Centre for Islamic Economic

How Did Banks Become As Influential As They Are Today

Banks are financial institutions that have made our lives easier in a lot of ways, banks are no more just places to store your cash in a more secure place, banks have turned into some of the most powerful institutions that have their hands in almost all kinds of businesses cause ultimately all businesses require money and assistance from people that know how to keep it and use it the right way. Every business has friendly and beneficial ties with a bank that helps them with their accounts, their investments their expenses, and all other things that are related to finance. Banks are institutions that power a lot of things, from the political and government sector to the private sector there is some play of banks in every country.

But how did banks gain so much influence over all the major functions of a country in such a short time, relatively speaking banks have not been around for that long, they were founded in 1791 and in those times the bank only served one purpose and that was to keep the money of the people safe? with time though banks grew into much larger places capable of doing much more than just securing the money of people.

Banks started giving out loans to people who were looking to start a business, something that the government used to do but on a smaller scale, seeing this the governments decided to hand over the loaning process to the banks as they could do it in a much smoother and streamlined way. After banks started giving loans they began to buy assets in the name of their institution and selling them to people at standardized rates, this practice made them landlords of a lot of property as they always had cash on hand and were very particular about their purchases and almost every time, bought items that profited them without costing them money out of their own pockets. While doing all this, banks kept their standard of depositing and handing out money just as smoothly so that more people would come to their banks and add to the financial power of these banks. 

Today banks around the world own a stake in almost every major business known to man, they have tons of lands and houses to sell or rent out and these banks earn a lot of money from giving away loans at a premium. All in all, banks are making a ton of money all while providing an almost essential service in these times but not everyone can become a banker. Only a select few people have the talent and brain that it takes to be an expert on numbers and currencies. Some people are born with this ability of understanding numbers while others practice and master this art through intensive learning and taking certification courses in Banking many educational institutes are now providing courses to people who want to pursue a career in banks or other financial institutions, there is a diploma in banking and finance and other various courses that can help anyone become a great banker.

Finance and banking are careers that are not made for everyone, these careers require a certain type of ability to understand and communicate with numbers. In this field you need to constantly stay ahead and always focus on the next move, you need to give financial advice that can either save your firm from bankruptcy or further push the firm towards it. Being a banker is no easy feat but if you truly believe that you have what it takes to be one then by all means make that choice.